Darkness
by Silent Deathclaw
Summary: Every day is a war, every minute a battle, every second a blessing. An unnatural darkness has released a plague of living death onto the flourishing Zootopia. Now, four factions battle for the scraps of the once great city. Will order be restored? Or will the Darkness consume everything? Rating subject to change.
1. Chapter 1

**I own nothing  
Also, this is kind of inspired by the brilliant game: Alan Wake (not a crossover though)**

Old Days and Broken Dreams

One month ago, the city of Zootopia was a paradise. Speciest tensions were at an all-time low, unemployment was down, and crime was virtually non-existent. But that wasn't all. With the new-found relationship between predator and prey the city flourished. The city's revitalized economy drew the attention of many around the world. One group in particular held an affinity for the city: The World Games Council (ha ha discount Olympics). They noted everything about the grand metropolis; from its diverse populace to the advanced environmental control infrastructure. They decided that Zootopia would hold this year's games.

When the months of the games came around Zootopia became even better than it was before. The average man became rich, and those who were already rich lived like kings. Life was a dream.

But as some dreams do: this one became a nightmare. It happened one night, the natural darkness of the late hours came to life. Twisting and writhing like a dark beast. It devoured all those who were not protected by the light.

The next night, the darkness returned those it stole. However, they were not the same. When they returned they did so as husks of their former selves. The darkness clung to and penetrated all whom were taken by it. The Dark Ones tore across the city, killing all they could find and pulling them back to the unnatural darkness. Then the sun rose and dispelled all traces of the monsters from the world.

The next night they returned and the ZDP tried to fight back, but the darkness protected its thralls from conventional weapons. The sun rose but the Dark Ones remained for nearly an hour after it had risen.

The night after, the same thing occurred. And again they remained after the sun had risen. This time for four hours. This pattern continued for until they simply stopped vanishing. Soon the Dark Ones outnumbered the untainted citizens of Zootopia by twenty to one.

At night they were smart, coordinating, and invincible. The only defense then was warding them off with light. In the daytime, they lost their intelligence, their coordination, and their protective shells of darkness were burned away; making them vulnerable to conventional weaponry. In the day, you had a fighting chance.

The world had changed from one of frivolous necessity to one of survival and responsibility. Every day, people fought for what was left, and at night people prayed that the Dark Ones didn't get them.

Four factions had risen out of the ashes, each of them fighting for whatever they could find. _The Forgers:_ a group of construction workers operating out of a fortified job site. The _Legion of Light:_ a zealous cult that controls the Zootopian Solar Plant. They demand a daily tribute of food and medical supplies in exchange for supplying power to the other survivors. _Ryan's Released:_ a group of escaped convicts that have claimed the streets, they operate out of an old apartment building and are by far the largest group. And finally, we have the _Zootopian Defense Force:_ they were formed by the remnants of the ZPD and people who wanted to restore order to the city.

Every day was a war. If you won you got to fight it all over again, but if you lost…you joined the unholy brotherhood of the Dark Ones. Every moment of life was a moment they stole from the Dark Ones. For most people, this was enough reason to keep going.

 **Sorry if this intro reads a bit sluggishly, I'm experiencing a slight bit of writers block. On the bright side I won a vacation to a little town in Washington called 'Bright Falls'. It sounds relaxing.**


	2. First Contact

**AN: Still own nothing**  
 **Also, Bright Falls was a bust...between the Dark Presence and the trigger happy FBI agents, it...it just sucked.  
And one more thing, Sorry about taking so long on this update, life has been kicking my ass lately.**

It was a wonderful day. The sun shone bright in the cloudless azure sky, the world was quite (with only the occasional moan of a Dark One to break the silence). Judy Hopps stared across the rooftop of Grady Memorial Hospital, a place she had just recently found herself. She had woken up from a medically induced coma after some kind of car crash she couldn't remember. Judy had been greeted by a bobcat named Dale, a nurse practitioner and a member of a group calling themselves: 'The Wards' (probably because they lived in a hospital).

The rabbit officer had asked if Nick was there. Dale had said that she had been brought in with a fox, but he was taken to a different floor than Judy. He continued to tell her that he had no clue about anyone not on the floor he was in charge of, but pointed her in the direction of the one who had brought them in. That's what brought her to the roof in the first place.

Now she stood in the warm morning sunlight, sizing up the occupant of a cobbled together lean-to. He was a corsac fox with light tan, almost white fur, silver-blue eyes, and a scar on the left side of his snout. He wore blue jeans, a black tee shirt, and a firefighter coat (with the reflective material scratched off). In his paws he held a battered copy of Departure (By Alan Wake), sitting on a desk beside him was a stack of other books, and a Taurus PT908 in a shoulder holster. Officer Hopps noted all this as she walked towards the hut, the roof slightly hotter than she would have liked.

Halfway between the door to the stairwell and hut, the corsac spoke. "The showers are on the ground floor, door on the left of the lobby. We've got hot water and plenty of soap, I suggest you make use of it. I could smell you coming up the stairs." Judy was taken aback by the firefighter's (she assumed he was a firefighter) rude, or brutally honest comment. He bent the corner of one of the pages to preserve his place, set his book aside and looked up. His strange silvery eyes widened as he made eye contact with Judy.

"Oh shit." he said. "I'm so sorry!" Judy squinted slightly, confused by his 180 flip. "I...I just do that sometimes. Act like a total prick I mean." He ran his paw from the crown of his head to the end of his snout. "Let's start over. My name is Ashton Graham, how can I assist you?"

Judy licked her lips, feeling anxious and awkward. "Judy Hopps." she said. "You brought someone else in with me, a fox-"

"You mean Nick?" Ashton interrupted. Judy jumped a bit as she heard him call Nick by name.

"Yes, where is he?!" she asked excited. Ashton pondered the question for a moment. He reached behind the sun bleached lawn chair and pulled out a worn ledger. He thumbed through the pages for a moment.

"Here we go," he said placing his index finger on one of the pages. "Nicholas P. Wilde, injuries: minor, personal effects: one bullet proof vest, one police uniform, one service belt, one Sig Sauer P229, four clips for said handgun, and one smartphone." Ashton licked his thumb and flipped the page. "Floor 4, room twenty three." The corsac firefighter barely got the words out before he heard the stairwell door bang close. "Come back any time." he said with a slight smile. Ashton replaced his ledger and went back to reading Departure.

 **Floor 4**

Judy was running faster than she ever had before. If she had been unconscious for as long as Dale had said then Nick must be sick with worry. She dodged and weaved between people in the corridor trying to prevent any collisions, her natural reflexes made it so. She kept glancing at the plastic numbers on the left sided of each door frame. Suddenly she collided with someone. The rabbit officer and whomever gravity had through into her pinwheel tumbled for a solid five feet before coming to a stop in a tangled knot of fur and limbs.

The two quickly untangled and dropped into low crouches, sizing each other up. They both smiled as recognition flashed across their eyes.

"Nick," Judy said stunned. Nick's smile fell suddenly.

"Sorry Carrots, no time for a reunion." he said in a harsh whisper. He picked her up and the two of them rushed into a nearby supply closet.

"Nick what's wrong?" she whispered, though not knowing why. She put his finger to his muzzle, the universal sign to 'pipe down'. He cracked the door a few inches and stared out the gap. Judy could here people talking outside the door.

"Where in the actual fuck could that fox bastard get off to." one of the two voices cursed loudly. Judy watched as two mammals in prison jumpsuits passed by. One was a panther with a crowbar clasped in his paw. The other was a pig, he had a Mossberg 500 police shotgun slung over his shoulder. The pig spoke next.

"Calm down Rhys, the most you can do is break his legs." he said tiredly. "The boss whats both him and the rabbit alive."

"Fuckin' Ryan." Rhys spat. "Call's himself 'Emperor of the Streets' when he takes orders from the sheep bitch." The pig laughed.

"Best not let Ryan here you say that." He warned. "He'll toss ya off the roof at sunset, let the night walkers get ya." Rhys only snarled in response. Both Nick and Judy watched as the two of them walked down the corridor. Nick waited for a moment to make sure they where really gone. He turned to Judy, his face was a mask of fear.

"Judy, we need to get out of here. These people work with the Released; We need to get back to the Barracks and warn the rest of the force about this place." Nick rasped. Judy was confused, but her quick rabbit mind was already remedying that.

"We need our guns." she said. Nick nodded.

"I saw where the runners stash their guns," Nick started. "But it's on the first floor." Nick looked down at himself and then at Judy. "And scrubs don't stop bullets." Judy's ears suddenly perked up.

"I know where we can get a gun." she said.

"What'd'ya got, Carrots?" Nick asked.

"The guy on the roof with the firefighter coat." she said. "uh...Ashton Graham"

"What does that ass have to do with anything?" Nick asked slightly irritated.

"He's got a gun, maybe more than one." Judy explained. Suddenly the door came open.

"Actually, I only have the one." the corsac firefighter said. In that moment Judy noted three things. One: Ashton was about a head taller than Nick. Two: He was flanked by two other mammals, Judy only recognized the one of the left; it was Dale. Finally: They where all armed; Ashton with his Taurus, Dale with a snub nosed S&W model 10, and the unidentified lynx held an AR-15.

"Let's get moving Officers, we have a deadline to keep." Ashton said as he motioned a direction with his pistol. Nick and Judy exchanged glances and without another option, they complied.

 **So here's the first story chapter. Hope you enjoy reading it as much as I did writing it. Remember to read, review, and submit OCs if you are so inclined. (If you are so inclined please give me as much information as possible)  
See y'all later.**


	3. My Dearest Apologies

**I would like to apologize to all my readers.**

 **I have lost interest in this story for the time being.**

 **This is not a cancellation, it is only a Hiatus Notice.**

 **I regret this and hope to restore my interest soon.**

 **In the meantime check out my new story: Days of Death**


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